ENFIELD
Diesel prices fell by 13 cents per litre in many parts of Nova Scotia on Wednesday, with similar drops reported across the country.
The cost of diesel dropped to 256.5 cents a litre at the truck stop in Enfield, N.S., while regular self-serve gasoline also became cheaper in several provinces, including an 11 cent drop in Toronto to $1.67 a litre.
“It is fantastic and hopefully it’s a sign of more things to come,” said Colin MacDonald as he filled up his pickup truck with diesel in Enfield.
“A lot of people are struggling and just doing what they can to get by so I’m sure this is going to make a lot of people happy.”
Trucker Roger Spicer said the savings were significant as he filled his work truck.
“I think the diesel savings today will be about $60,” said Spicer, who added the decreased price was welcome news at a time when everything is getting more expensive.
According to analyst Carol Montreuil, a vice-president with the Canadian Fuels Association, the lower fuel prices are a reaction to global market optimism about the wars involving Iran and Ukraine.
“There is still no resolution, but there are hopes for it,” said Montreuil.
“This is really reflecting on the price of crude, which has come down significantly in the past couple of days and that is great news for consumers.”
Montreuil said the North American economy is largely fuelled by diesel, and growing energy and transportation costs have been passed on to Canadians.
“People have seen the prices of everything go up and that includes the prices of that food and transportation,” said Montreuil.
“The impact is being felt in all sectors including agriculture.”
Dalhousie University professor and food researcher Sylvain Charlebois pointed out Canada’s food inflation rate in September was 2.2 per cent, but said shoppers hoping for more affordable groceries due to lower diesel prices may be disappointed in the short term.
“Everything that is hauled in is based on contracts that were signed a few months ago,” said Charlebois.
“Seeing fuel prices drop is a really good sign but those prices need to remain low for a while.”
Montreuil said the focus will now be on U.S. President Donald Trump.
With the U.S. midterm elections over, he wonders whether sweeping losses for Republicans would affect Trump’s policies regarding the wars with Iran and Ukraine, which would have an impact on fuel supplies around the world.
In France, a separate price war has also pushed diesel prices lower after the government released reserve stocks.
E.Leclerc service stations dropped the price of diesel by 21 cents per litre, and TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné promised to undercut that price.
“If they set the price of diesel at €2.15, I’ll set it at €2.14. We will always be cheaper,” Pouyanné said, according to Le Figaro.
Nationally, diesel prices in France have dropped by around 9.3 cents on average since last week and are now at €2.26 per litre, according to unofficial price tracker Carbu.
Experts are forecasting that the current reprieve will not last long, and only sustained peace between the U.S., Israel and Iran will lead to a sustained price drop.
The main issue continues to be the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which accounts for around 20 percent of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas trade.
Transit through the Strait remains fraught, and additional precautions are increasing costs, including higher insurance premiums on oil.
It is only once there is sustained peace in the region, a full re-opening of the Strait without additional precautions, and repairs to production infrastructure take place, that long-term price drops are envisioned.
In Canada, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre recently called for suspending GST on diesel until Canada Day and cutting the public service ahead of the federal budget.
This story was written by the e2gold.ca newsroom from reporting by BNN Bloomberg, CTV News and The Connexion. Quotes are checked word for word against that reporting.